DONNELL, Richard Spaight, (grandson of Richard Dobbs Spaight),
a Representative from North Carolina; born in New Bern, N.C.,
September 20, 1820; attended New Bern Academy and Yale College; was graduated
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1839; studied law; was
admitted to the bar in 1840 and commenced practice in New Bern, N.C.; elected
as a Whig to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847-March 3, 1849); was not a
candidate for renomination in 1848; resumed the practice of law in Washington,
N.C.; delegate to the State secession convention in 1861 and to the State
constitutional convention in 1865; member of the State house of commons in 1862
and 1864, and served as speaker; died in New Bern, N.C., June 3, 1867;
interment in Cedar Grove Cemetery.